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OK, “what you know” is actually quite important on a site dedicated to info about a long since extinct motorcycle species. Our point here is that we all know genetic engineering isn’t a cheap hobby. That’s when the “who you know” bit becomes important.

We all know the special warm fuzzy feeling that you get when you receive that padded envelope in the post and it’s full of little plastic bags with the red and white labels. Unfortunately that warm fuzzy feeling is tempered by the sinking feeling when you see the bill.

Well worry not! Thanks to our very own Yoshijohnny we have secured a very useful 15% discount on all genuine Suzuki parts from Robinsons Rochdale. YJ works with the company and his employers have kindly agreed this very generous discount,exclusively for OSS members.

Robinsons Rochdale have been in the business for 60 years and if they don’t have the part on the shelf they can normally have it within 24 hours.

YJ has also agreed to alert us to any special offers on vintage Suzuki parts clear outs where discounts can sometimes be in excess of 30%

Details on how to get the discount are in our traders section on the forum and is only available to members.

My slabby has a lively front end, so I’ve been wanting to fit a steering damper for ages. I even acquired the period Daytona fitting kit and damper however couldn’t get that to work with my USD front end. So, seeing as I wasn’t keen on modifying the frame to take a bolt-on side mounted damper the only option left was a 916-style fitment. Seeing as I’m running an Ohlins rear shock, the damper had to be Ohlins to match of course!

Basic theory:
Whilst steering damper manufacturers don’t list fitting kits for oldskool bikes, it’s actually a simple matter of taking the measurements and then doing some research to find a suitable kit (or parts from several kits).

The measurements: (Note – some measurements are taken with internal vernier edges, some external. These are just shown to illustrate, you should of course check your own measurements carefully!)

A: Yoke nut centre to tank front mount centre

B: Top of tank mount to top of top yoke

C: Between centre of tank front mount bolts

D: Between LH lock and centre (then multiplied by 2)

The research:
I took a tape measure with me to bike meets, bike shops etc to measure up more modern bikes (with owners permissions of course when they were about!) and also bothered a few people selling kits on ‘that auction site’.

Things to note: On my slabby, the damper is quite close (5-10mm) to the tank. Double, triple check all measurements to ensure it won’t foul anwwhere. Source the fitting kit before buying a damper so that you can mock up and modify if necessary. Setting a good search on ‘that auction site’ makes this surprisingly easy and cost-effective. For the damper stroke, obviously err on the side of slightly longer but not too long as it will look unbalanced.

The result: I picked up a 2000-model H*nda Firebl*de Harris fitting kit from ‘that auction site’ for a whopping �20. Measurements were near-perfect as a 1-2mm on the tank mount, etc. is just fine. Only slight drawback was 30mm lower ‘B measurement’ so I acquired a 30mm tubular spacer.

My ‘D measurement’ (remember to multiply by 2 of course!) meant an approx 60mm stroke damper so I ordered a 63mm stroke Ohlins damper from BikeStuff (cheers Rich!).
In the pics below you can see the finished result. I’ve lost a tiny amount of right-lock, however, eventually I’ll get a spacer made up to under the tank-mount part which will solve that. All-in-all I’m well pleased!

When we launched the site nearly 2 months ago we prepared a press release on the re-launch and sent it out to the editors of all of the bike magazines. As with so may things in life it’s always who you know and not what you know that makes the difference. Thanks to Banoffee’s contacts at Classic Motorcycle Mechanics and Dave Manning’s influence at BSH and 100% Biker we received some great coverage,

Even the original site’s founder Patrick Fonck ( MR 7/11) felt the need to share a press cutting on facebook and say “It almost seems like a different lifetime when I started this website, but it’s nice to see my brainchild has grown up and finally found a way to take care of itself. Well done and good luck to the people who are supporting it right now. The new logo looks brill btw.”

Thank you to everyone who was involved in getting the news of the site’s re-launch into print.

The Donington classic bike festival has fast become one of the largest classic bike events in Europe. As well as a massive hall full of classic and contemporary classic bikes , there are also 3 days of classic bike racing round the Donigton Park circuit. All you have to do is walk out of the main hall and you are track side.

This was not the first time OSS have had a stand at the event but it was the first time since the new site was launched. The show is run by VJMC and it is well laid out and organised. Our stand is set up and run by Dave (katana) Whitehead and Mark Parry all credit must go to Dave and Mark for the effort that they put into organising the event for us. They really do a top job.

I had spent a lot of time this year rebuilding my Katana and working with the other Admins on the new site launch. Combine that with family and work and all the other stuff that we all have going on and I was in need of some time out.

I hadn’t been on a road trip for ages so I booked a place on the stand for my Katana and exchanged holidays and brownie points for a long weekend pass for some much needed OSS fun. I knew the weather was going to be “changeable” ( read probably pissing down) so I was undecided as to whether I should ride down or take a van. In the past I had always ridden to events because for me a road trip is always better on the bike. This time though a couple of things were telling me perhaps I should take a van. Firstly the rear-sets I had fitted were going to be uncomfortable for a 600 mile round trip( old bastard) and secondly I had removed all of the rear hangers which had been where my panniers had secured before. So I was going to have to travel very light despite having to camp for 3 days. In the end I hired a transit for the 3 days and stuck the Kat in the back. I figured the van would also double as my accommodation while I was there.

So late on the Friday morning I loaded up the van and set off for Castle Donington. It was nearly 6pm when I got there thanks to road works but I got there just as Dave was arriving and I unloaded the bike and put it on the stand ready for the next morning. The loading and unloading along with hall security is run with military precision. I felt totally at ease leaving the bike there overnight.

Dave setting up

All the basics catered for

I made my way down to the camp site and set up the van, which took approximately 2 minutes. It was was about now that I realised I hadn’t eaten all day and I had already consumed a few beers setting up camp ( as you do)I was now starving but I had no food. I couldn’t drive anywhere now due to accidentally inhaling a couple of beers. Everything near by was now closed. ( note I had brought beer but no food- priorities) At this point an old guy in a Laverda T-shirt shouted that if anyone wanted some chilli they were welcome. I wandered over to find a full on camp kitchen with around 15 Laverda owners sitting round a long table tucking into chilli. I sat down and ate 2 bowls and drank the beer they also kindly offered.The old guy that had invited me asked me “what bike do you have” I replied “a Suzuki Katana” He then replied enthusiastically “oh I have a Bandit 1200″ Before I could stop myself I looked at him and said ” it’s OK I wont hold that against you” there was a momentary silence then the whole table burst into fits of laughter. The old guy then called me a “sweaty sock” which is Southerner slang for a Jock or Scotsman and friendly banter ensued. These guys were great. I had never met them before but they fed me and we exchanged good willed insults until I made my excuses and left.

By the time I got back to Camp OSS the rest of the troops had arrived and started to set up. I helped Fod erect his 16 man tent for him and his wife. Then we settled down for some more beers and good humoured piss taking. Fod had bought himself new “special black opps stealth crocs” especially for that weekend. Shortly after that Yoshi Johnny turned up in his mobile house/garage. Dave and Mark had already set up camp and Tom ( Havoc) had just arrived on his bike and we were soon joined by JP. The most important thing was that the weather was perfect for outdoor living. Pretty soon everyone was set up and the beers was flowing . We would finish the stand in the morning and the show opened to the public at 10am.

Fod strikes a pose with his new SAS Crocs.

Good weather and good company

Living room , Kitchen, bedroom and Garage.

The Show itself was great with lots of very cool classic Jap, European and British bikes on display. The weather on Saturday, like the Friday , was perfect. Sunny and hot. I spent my time between the stand and the track side. The OSS stand stuck out like a sore thumb because there was such an eclectic mixture of machinery. Everything from Yoshi Johnny’s Lockhart race slabby through to Paul’s “cursed” GSXR powered chop. Tom Davidson’s EZ got lot’s of sideways looks too. On the Sunday I was asked to place a rosette on the bike that we wanted to put forward as the best of our stand. I wanted to put Tom’s EZ forward but apparently this didn’t go down well with the VJMC organisers so in the end I opted for Rossco’s GSXR 750 slabside. It looks at first glance like a standard bike but has 17″ 3 spokes and an upside down font end from a K series GSXR.Very understated but the sort of bike we would all like to take home. I could have equally chosen Paul’s turbo Bandit but the fact that I’m collecting bits for a slabby 11 build myself tainted my choice a bit so it was always going to be between YJ’s Lockhart race replica. and Rossco’s tweaked Slabby. In the end I decided that because YJ was already a minor celebrity that the honour should go to Rossco. The pictures in the gallery below are curtsey of Mark Parry ( who Dave affectionately referred to as his show bitch) Great Pictures Mark, thanks.

Tom and I also took advantage of our exhibitors wrist bands and and took a wander round the race paddock on the Sunday to ogle all the the race bikes.It’s easy to see how people can become addicted to the life of racing. The Paddock is a thriving community all in it’s own right. The smell of Castrol R mixed with BBQ made me wish I could move into this neighbourhood and put down some routes.

On the Saturday night it was more of the same OSS camp fire banter. Dave and Fod combined culinary forces and cooked up a first class BBQ before we wandered to the pub in the dark, a couple of miles away. On the way back we were all impressed at how unaware unafraid Tom was of oncoming traffic. We were also witness to some mindless vandalism which as an OSS official I cannot condone.

The highlight of the show for me was on the Sunday. When all the weekend’s racing was complete we were invited to do 3 laps of the track led by none other than Fast Freddie Spencer, Nail Mackenzie, Steve Parish and Ron Haslam. The OSS team were right up at the front of the pack looking like they had taken a wrong turn and ended up on a race circuit.

In Fairness, Steve Parish and Nail Mackenzie were both on Fizzies and the laps were controlled by a pace car to protect some of the vintage mopeds that would be bringing up the rear. Nonetheless the first lap saw things get quite sporty. None of the safety measures stopped Paul running Steve Parish and his Fizzy onto the grass with his slightly larger Turbo Bandit powered ET on one corner.

It was quite surreal to be riding round Donington Park on my Katana in my Jeans and a leather jacket with Yoshi Johnnie on one side of me and Freddie Spencer on the other. It got more bizarre when big Paul flew through the middle of us on his GSXR powered hard-tail chop. He got a sideways WTF turn of the head from Freddie followed by a nod of acknowledgement. Fod managed a full 3 laps on his X7 without any issue and Dave never got to ride his Katana but still looked as happy as a pig in shit to be riding a 750 slingshot he brought with him.

So after the laps were done I loaded up the bike into the van said my fond farewells to my OSS friends, new and old and set off for the 300 mile trip back home. I had a few hours and the open road to reflect upon what had turned out to be an epic weekend with a wonderful bunch of like minded people. I was still pinching myself to make sure I hadn’t imagined the track action and I laughed out loud several times on the long journey home as my mind replayed some of the weekend’s events. I know that getting out from behind a keyboard into the real world and meeting actual people isn’t for everyone but I would urge anyone who wanted to extend their involvement and enrich their enjoyment of the world of OSS to make the effort to do just that.. I will definitely be coming back to Donington next August. My thanks to Dave and Mark for all of the effort they put into the stand and the excellent hospitality they extended to me. Thanks Guys!

Just seven days ago we had just a handful of test group members, a few posts and threads and a lot of work to do. A week later and we have 430 members, 340 topics and nearly 9000 posts. Our busiest section has been members projects with nearly 1000 posts. That statistic alone is the most encouraging of them all because it tells us that we have the emphasis right. We’re grateful for all of those who have given up there valuable time to share what they are building with everyone. That’s what OSS has always been about. If you have a project and you haven’t shared it yet please jump in and do so and remember we like pictures!

Thank you to everyone for their kind words of thanks and support to the Admin team for bringing the site back. Just to see how excited and happy it has made you all is all the reward that we could have hoped for. Thank you also to everyone who has taken the time to give their constructive feedback on the site and it’s function. In the last seven days we have made over 500 coding edits to iron out issues that you have fed back to us . We are really happy with the way it’s all shaping up.

A massive thanks to our Mods who have worked so hard this week too.

If you haven’t yet, please update your profile with your location and get yourself an avatar. There is a useful section on posting pics if you are having any difficulty. If after reading it you are still stuck don’t be afraid to ask a question on the thread.

This week we had our first bike of the month in over 3 years and we are currently trawling the site for our next winner. More details on that later. We are processing our first trader applications so expect some competitions and give-aways to follow too.

On Monday we sent out a press release to all of the UK’s bike press. So we expect some coverage in the coming weeks and months.If you are outside of the UK and you would like us to contact a publication in your country please let us know by contacting admin@oldskoolsuzuki.info

The forum has taken all of our time this last few days and we have barely had time to progress the .info mission on the front page and the vault. We are currently looking for anyone who wishes to produce a technical article or a how to guide for the front page on any subject that they and we think would be of interest or use to the members. If this is something you would be interested in contact us admin@oldskoolsuzuki.info

If you have any previous experience with word press we are also looking for assistant publishers to mine for old content from the original site and prepare it for publishing. Again please let us know if you are interested.

So all in all a busy but a thoroughly rewarding week. At this rate we may get round to riding and working on our own bikes sometime next year. Here are some pictures just to prove that we actually we have them.

So, a brand new site with all of the original OSS values. It would appear that there are still enough of us left to appreciate how good it feels to be home. Let’s go forward from here and continue what we have started.